Jerritt will tell you that I’m a hippie. But not a patchouli-wearing, job-shedding, free-spirit Rainbow-Child-of-the-forest. I am an acutely-aware-of-how-my-every-decision-has-environmental-and-social-consequences hippie. I buy only recycled paper products and use less of them. I am not tempted to purchase any item of clothing unless the tag says “Organic Cotton” or “Bamboo.” I stopped eating seafood (the last, lonely meat-proteins that I ate) because our oceans are over-fished (much to the dismay of both Jerritt and my body).

All this stems from my recent non-fiction book habit. It started out easy, a book about lobsters here, a book about trees there…and somehow that turned into an all-out devouring of nature/eco books and nature/eco shows.

My favorite is “Eco Trip” a David de Rothschild hosted show that takes you on one specific product’s entire lifespan. He’s done bottled water, cotton t-shirts, paper napkins and chocolate. But don’t fear, he doesn’t recommend that we run around dehydrated, naked, dirty and without chocolate. He gives alternatives that result in responsible consumer habits that are pretty easy compromises.

Jerritt has gotten into “The Lazy Environmentalist.” The first (and only) episode we’ve watched actually featured a doggie daycare! This host was pointing out the waste toll that the petcare industry takes on the environment and it’s an eye opener. While Michelle has been on this hippie dog bandwagon for a while, it’s taken me this long to hop on board. And I have a lot of catching up to do.

But the environment isn’t the only winner here, the dogs benefit too. They get quality food and treats without fillers. We’ve stopped putting pesticides on them. And their toys are better made and safer for use.

So I wanted to share a few good-for-the-earth dog products that I love:

Earth Dog: Check out Kym. She’s a vegan, she’s fun to read and she has 16 dogs! What’s not to love? Oh, and she makes the cutest hemp collars and leashes.

Zuke’s: I just discovered this brand. It’s my idea of the BEST. COMPANY. EVER. (Besides MoJo’s Backyard, of course) They pay their employees to ride their bikes to work. They use wind power. They used recycled materials for their packaging and my dogs love their tasty morsels. That’s the greatest. (Check out Zuke’s at MoJo’s Backyard)

Earthbath: We recently learned from “The Lazy Environmentalist” that pouring chemicals down the drain is bad (duh!) but I had never really stopped to think about dog shampoos being one of those harmful substances.

Neem: Also courtesy of “TLE” we discovered that conventional flea control is Harmful to Humans and Harmful to Domestic Animals. (Read the back of your box, people). Common sense once again takes the stage. It’s a chemical made to kill insects. I don’t want pesticides on my food and I don’t want it on my dogs! Neem is a natural product made from a tree that has properties in it that heal as well as repel fleas, ticks and mosquitos. And while I’ll admit I haven’t tried it yet, I have ordered it and Michelle swears it works.

Dog Poo Composter: No more biodegradable messes going to the landfill in non-biodegradable plastic bags. Now if I can only figure out how to make this work for MoJo’s…

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About Megan

I live and work with dogs in Tallahassee, Fl. My loves are in this order: 1. Dogs 2. Food 3. Coffee 4. Endurance Sports

One Response to Happy Hippie Dogs

I’ve knowed you was a hippie for a long time. Not like the hippies of the good ole days when everybody flocked to Arkansas in anticipation of a nuklear war, but a big city dog lovin’ green type city savin pseudohippie. Go for it girl. Iffin there were more people like you, the world would be a better place.